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My Brightest Diamond is the project of singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Shara Nova. The band has released five studio albums and a remix album, five studio EPs and four remix EPs, and made several tours across the United States.


History

Nova began performing and recording music while she was a student at the
University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public university, public research university located in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its main campus is in Denton, Texas, Denton, with a satellite campus in Frisco, Texas, Frisco. It serves as the ...
, in
Denton, Texas Denton is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Denton County, Texas, Denton County. With a population of 139,869 as of 2020, it is the List of cities in Texas by population, 20th-most populous city in Texas, the List of Un ...
. She released an album, entitled ''Word'' in 1998, under the name Shara. Following her completion of a Bachelor of Music degree in Classical Vocal Performance, Nova moved to
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
,
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
, where she documented several newly written songs and released them on CD-R's as an album entitled ''Session I'', which included hand-made artwork. In 1999, she moved to
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
, New York City, writing music that blended elements of her classical training with chamber music, and avant-garde rock music she discovered in the underground rock scene, at venues such at Tonic,
The Living Room The Living Room was a music venue on Metropolitan Avenue in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, which was originally established on Stanton Street of the Lower East Side in Manhattan, New York City in 1988. The Living Room was co-owned ...
, and the Knitting Factory. She began performing and recording under the moniker AwRy, and gathered the support of a group of musicians, who played a variety of non-traditional instruments including wine glasses and wind chimes. Eventually, Nova and the group added a string quartet after studying and collaborating with the Australian composer Padma Newsome. She released an eponymous album in 2001, which was mostly a reworking of songs from the album ''Word'', and is often referred to as ''The Orange Album; Quiet B-Sides'', as well as a remix album in 2003. Nova contributed xylophone, keyboard, and backing vocals to the CD Recession Special of Bogs Visionary Orchestra in 2003. After meeting fellow transplanted Michigander
Sufjan Stevens Sufjan Stevens ( ; born July 1, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He has released ten solo studio albums and multiple collaborative albums with other artists. Stevens has received Grammy and Academy Award nomina ...
, she became part of his touring string section, named the Illinoisemakers. Nova took a hiatus from her own work to perform with Stevens' ''
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
'' tour, as cheerleading captain. When the tour concluded, Nova renamed her project My Brightest Diamond, and began recording for two albums; the first, a collection of songs performed with a string quartet entitled ''A Thousand Shark's Teeth'', and the second, a rock-oriented album entitled '' Bring Me the Workhorse''. The latter was released on Asthmatic Kitty in the Summer of 2006. My Brightest Diamond toured with Stevens in the Fall of 2006 in support of ''Bring Me the Workhorse'', and in early 2007, the group toured in support on the indie rock band
The Decemberists The Decemberists are an American indie rock band from Portland, Oregon, formed in 2000. The band consists of Colin Meloy (lead vocals, guitar), Chris Funk (guitar, multi-instrumentalist), Jenny Conlee (piano, keyboards, accordion, backing vocals ...
, as part of their "Twilight in the Fearful Forest" tour. '' A Thousand Shark's Teeth'' was released worldwide on Asthmatic Kitty on June 2, 2008, with a tour of the United States beginning on June 17. My Brightest Diamond contributed a cover of the
Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...
song " Lucky" for the 2007 ''Stereogum'' tribute album, '' Stereogum Presents... OKX: A Tribute to OK Computer''. They recorded a cover of the Gloria Jones and Soft Cell song "Tainted Love" for the Engine Room Recordings' compilation album, '' Guilt by Association Vol. 2'', which was released in November 2008. The group contributed a cover of the Anthony Newley and
Leslie Bricusse Leslie Bricusse OBE (; 29 January 1931 – 19 October 2021) was a British composer, lyricist, and playwright who worked on theatre musicals and wrote theme music for films. He was best known for writing the music and lyrics for the films '' D ...
song " Feeling Good" for the Red Hot Organization's compilation '' Dark Was the Night'', released in 2009, and appear on the
David Byrne David Byrne (; born May 14, 1952) is an American musician, writer, visual artist, and filmmaker. He was a founding member, principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of the American New wave music, new wave band Talking Heads. Byrne has ...
and
Fatboy Slim Norman Quentin Cook (born Quentin Leo Cook, 31 July 1963), also known as Fatboy Slim, is an English musician and DJ who helped popularise the big beat genre in the 1990s. His music makes extensive use of Sampling (music), samples from eclectic ...
2010 album, '' Here Lies Love''. '' All Things Will Unwind'' was released on October 18, 2011. The album was initially a compositional project for a program called The American Songbook Series. The title was inspired by a conversation Nova had with a friend, about the Sun burning out. In 2014, My Brightest Diamond released their fourth album, '' This Is My Hand'' which Nova wrote imagining a tribe of people gathered around a fire, who were making music together, telling stories and hearing from the shaman. The album peaked on the ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' charts on 4 October 2014, at No. 50. The EP ''None More Than You'' was also released that year. They made their first release on Rhyme & Reason Records with the electronic-leaning album '' A Million and One'', which ''
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...
'' describes as "display ngMy Brightest Diamond's experimental range ndNova's crystalline voice."


Members

* Shara Nova – Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards, Percussion, Drum Programming *Chris Bruce – Guitar, Bass *
Earl Harvin Earl Harvin is an American drummer, percussionist and multi-instrumentalist who has lived in Dallas, Texas and Los Angeles and is now residing in Berlin, Germany. Harvin studied at the University of North Texas College of MusicEnsoulment.html" ...
– Drums, Drum Programming


Live Members

*Jharis Yokley – Drums


Past members


Discography

;Albums *'' Bring Me the Workhorse'' (2006) *'' A Thousand Shark's Teeth'' (2008) *'' All Things Will Unwind'' (2011) *'' This Is My Hand'' (2014) *'' A Million and One'' (2018) *''Fight the Real Terror'' (2024) ;Remix albums *'' Tear It Down'' (2007) *'' Shark Remixes Volumes 1, 2, 3 & 4'' (2010) ;EPs *''Disappear'' (August 18, 2006) *''From the Top of the World'' (September 23, 2008) *'' None More Than You'' (July 15, 2014) *''I Had Grown Wild'' (May 19, 2015) *''
Champagne Champagne (; ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, which demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...
'' (April 27, 2018) ;Remix EPs *''Shark Remixes, Vol. 1: Alfred Brown'' (October 27, 2008) *''Shark Remixes, Vol. 2.: Son Lux'' (January 20, 2009) *''Shark Remixes, Vol. 3: Roberto Carlos Lange'' (May 31, 2009) *''Shark Remixes, Vol. 4: DM Stith'' (January 26, 2010) ;Singles *"Inside a Boy" (June 17, 2008) *"From the Top of the World" (September 23, 2008) *"Be Brave" (September 20, 2011) *"I Have Never Loved Someone" (April 21, 2012) *"Ceci Est Ma Main" (April 22, 2015) *"Right Here With You (featuring Ben Arthur & DJ Big WIZ)" (2015) *"Champagne FR" (2018) *"Quiet Loud" (2019) ;Appearing on *"Lucky" for '' Stereogum Presents... OKX: A Tribute to OK Computer'' (2007) *"Tainted Love" for '' Guilt by Association Vol. 2'' (2008) *"Feeling Good" for '' Dark Was the Night'' (2009)


References

;Citations ;Bibliography * * * * * * * * *


External links

* * *
Interview and performance
on
KCMP KCMP (89.3 FM, ''89.3 the Current'') is a radio station owned by Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) that broadcasts an adult album alternative (AAA) music format including a significant rotation of songs by local artists. Licensed to Northfield, Mi ...

Live at Other Music Performance
produced by digforfire.tv {{Authority control Asthmatic Kitty artists Indie pop groups from New York (state) Musical groups established in 2006 Rhyme & Reason Records artists Sufjan Stevens